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Man accused of sex assault on intoxicated teen

By MIKE WIGGINS.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

A judge Friday ordered a secured bond for a Grand Junction man accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated 18-year-old woman.

Mesa County Judge Bruce Raaum advised Johnathan Jameson, 33, 656 Stepher Court, he could be charged with a single felony count of sexual assault and handed him a $60,000 secured bond.

Defense attorney Gordon Gallagher, who indicated he was making a special appearance on behalf of Jameson, argued for a personal-recognizance bond.

He called Jameson “essentially a lifetime resident” of the county who is married with six children, owns a business and has had “limited” contact with police.

District Attorney Pete Hautzinger, however, said he couldn’t go along with a request for a bond that would allow Jameson to sign himself out of jail without putting up any cash or property. He noted the seriousness of the allegations and the fact that Jameson could face lifetime imprisonment if convicted.

As of Friday evening, Jameson was still being held in the Mesa County Jail.

Jameson, who owns J&M Auto Sales on Orchard Mesa, was arrested Thursday after authorities say a DNA test tied him to the August 2007 rape of an 18-year-old woman.

According to court records, the 18-year-old woman told investigators she had been drinking with several friends and Jameson at both J&M Auto and at a house and that Jameson was flirting with her.

The woman said she didn’t remember much after leaving J&M Auto and woke up the next day at a house when she felt someone tugging up her underwear. She told investigators she thought she might have had a “weird sex dream” but later felt sore and noticed things about her clothes that led her to believe she had been sexually assaulted, according to court records.

A medical exam performed the next day confirmed the woman had been sexually assaulted.

Jameson told an employee he laid down in a bed with a pair of girls after the party and that the 18-year-old woman climbed on top of him, but that they stopped short of having sex.

When the 18-year-old woman later called Jameson and confronted him about what happened, he denied having sex with her and told her to contact his attorney, according to court records.

Investigators collected DNA samples from Jameson in March 2008 and submitted them to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for testing. The results showed DNA on the woman’s underwear matching Jameson’s profile, according to court records.

Prosecutors are expected to formally file charges against Jameson on Thursday.